Data_NAC

Data_NA

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of <i>Miscanthus sinensis</i> Germplasm in China

<div><p><i>Miscanthus</i> is a perennial rhizomatous C4 grass native to East Asia. Endowed with great biomass yield, high ligno-cellulose composition, efficient use of radiation, nutrient and water, as well as tolerance to stress, <i>Miscanthus</i> has great potential as an excellent bioenergy crop. Despite of the high potential for biomass production of the allotriploid hybrid <i>M</i>. ×<i>giganteus</i>, derived from <i>M</i>. <i>sacchariflorus</i> and <i>M. sinensis</i>, other options need to be explored to improve the narrow genetic base of <i>M</i>. <i>×giganteus</i>, and also to exploit other <i>Miscanthus</i> species, including <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> (2n = 2x = 38), as bioenergy crops. In the present study, a large number of 459 <i>M. sinensis</i> accessions, collected from the wide geographical distribution regions in China, were genotyped using 23 SSR markers transferable from <i>Brachypodium distachyon</i>. Genetic diversity and population structure were assessed. High genetic diversity and differentiation of the germplasm were observed, with 115 alleles in total, a polymorphic rate of 0.77, Nei’s genetic diversity index (<i>He</i>) of 0.32 and polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.26. Clustering of germplasm accessions was primarily in agreement with the natural geographic distribution. AMOVA and genetic distance analyses confirmed the genetic differentiation in the <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> germplasm and it was grouped into five clusters or subpopulations. Significant genetic variation among subpopulations indicated obvious genetic differentiation in the collections, but within-subpopulation variation (83%) was substantially greater than the between-subpopulation variation (17%). Considerable phenotypic variation was observed for multiple traits among 300 <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> accessions. Nine SSR markers were found to be associated with heading date and biomass yield. The diverse Chinese <i>M. sinensis</i> germplasm and newly identified SSR markers were proved to be valuable for breeding <i>Miscanthus</i> varieties with desired bioenergy traits.</p></div

Alleles significantly associated with the observed traits in the <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis.</i>

<p>Alleles significantly associated with the observed traits in the <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis.</i></p

Genetic diversity for each subpopulation grouped by structure analysis.

a<p>Polymorphism information content.</p

Phenotypic distribution against latitude (with interval of 2°) of the place of origin in Chinese <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> germplasm.

<p>a) heading date, b) plant height and c) biomass yield in the 1^st (2009) and 2^nd (2010) year after the Miscanthus field was established.</p

AMOVA analysis of genetic variation between <i>M. sinensis</i> subpopulations.

<p>AMOVA analysis of genetic variation between <i>M. sinensis</i> subpopulations.</p

Genetic distance between <i>M. sinensis</i> subpopulations.

<p>Nei’s minimum distance estimates list above the diagonal and pairwise <i>F_st</i> lists below the diagonal.</p

The original geographical distribution of 457 <i>M. sinensis</i> accessions showed on a partial Chinese map.

<p>The colorful objects represent various subpopulations generated by population structure analysis. The two accessions from USA are not shown in this figure.</p

Molecular classification of Chinese <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> germplasm.

<p>a Population structure of Chinese <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> germplasm. b Classification of Chinese <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i> germplasm based on neighbor-joining tree clustering analysis. Note: The colors of the branch is consistent with the colors of structure group in a (G1 = <i>red</i>, G2 = <i>green</i>, G3 = <i>blue</i>, G4 = <i>yellow</i>, and G5 = <i>purple</i>). The vertical bars represent each genotype while division of the bars shows the genome content based on the sub-population identity.</p

Pearson correlation coefficients between geographical parameters of the original habitats and the observed traits in <i>M</i>. <i>sinensis</i>.

**<p>Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed). NS means not significant.</p